maledictus (Cursed)
by Tomoe Mami
Summary: Sequel to Photograph. Gift fic for Dark Balance. When a Hikari artwork ends up in the reconciled mansion of the Kimura's and Minamoto's, Daisuke is instructed to steal it. Of course, wherever Dark is, Krad is sure to follow.


Three years after Kouichi found the photo album of his mother's where he saw the white cat, he finally had a chance to reunite with and get to know his younger twin. He did ask his mother about the cat in the picture.

Hikari told him she had a couple of adventures when she was younger and that the cat was her partner, an Adult level Digimon called Tailmon. In return, Kouichi described his own adventure as the Warrior of Darkness, first as the corrupted Duskmon and then the purified Loewemon. He noticed his mother seemed to shy away from him when he mentioned that he had been the Warrior of Darkness.

Kouichi hoped she would come to terms with it sooner or later. He knew he'd looked through that particular album before, but had never seen his mother's partner. Had she added it in before they moved?

Kouichi knew there was also his brother and father to consider. No doubt a similar situation popped up with Kouji, in that he discovered his father's secret Chosen Child past. Everything rode on this meeting: would their parents successfully reconcile? Not to mention, where the rest of their team was.

 _So many mysteries…_ Kouichi pondered, looking to the clock in the kitchen. He wondered when his father and brother would arrive. He wanted to show his twin the new artwork his mother bought in a special market sale that had been held the other day.

Kouichi got up to study the artwork again and was there for what he believed was ten minutes. Before he knew it, the doorbell rang.

"Kouichi, please answer the door. I'll be right there," his mother called.

"Alright, Mum." He replied, hurrying to open the front door. Standing on the doorstep was his younger twin and father. "Hi!" He greeted, letting them in.

"Hikari must work very hard," Ken observed as he took in the luxurious mansion with a sweeping glance. The young man fixed Kouichi with his gaze. "Is she home?"

Kouichi nodded in respect. "Yes. She said she would be right down."

Ken nodded back. That was fine, he would wait. In the meantime… "Kouji, Hikari was saying Kouichi wanted to show you an artwork she bought the other day. Why don't you go and study it with him?"

A defeated exhale and reluctant nod. Kouji followed his brother to the second floor where the artwork was kept. Along the way, the twins had a somewhat forced conversation. Kouichi inquired as to whether Kouji knew about him before their father arranged the meeting with their mother. The younger shook his head no and Kouichi felt his own sense of disappointment at the knowledge.

Upon reaching the second floor, they walked a bit further down until they reached the exact spot where the artwork was. It was a painting hung on the wall, in which a group of butterflies emerged from chrysalis'. Kouichi waited with anticipation, wanting to hear his brother's thoughts on the piece.

Having never really been into artwork before, Kouji found himself liking this piece, much to his surprise. "It's... nice," he commented awkwardly. "Feels... different."

Kouichi smiled faintly. It would take him some time to get used to having a whole family, but he enjoyed the completeness. "I'm glad you like it."

* * *

Downstairs, Ken and Hikari moved into the lounge room and sat across from each other on opposite sofas. Hikari unconsciously folded her arms, but seemed to realize at the last moment and sat her hands in her lap instead.

"… Ken, how are Daisuke and the others going?" She asked after a long pause.

Knowing they were building up to their main topic, Ken tilted his head to the side and smiled. "As well as any of the older Chosen with young kids," he responded. "I'm really surprised we're the only couple who has teenage-age children. All of the others are pre-teen and younger."

"I guess we wanted to get in first." Hikari agreed, letting out a light chuckle. "I hope Onii-chan isn't too peeved with me." Thinking for a few minutes, she continued. It was Ken's answer to her question that was worrying her the most. _Hopefully, Kouji didn't take the revelation too badly_. "How was Kouji's mood when you told him?"

Ken knew their conversation would turn to the 'secret' sooner or later and he sighed. He remembered the long fights he had had with his son over him not telling Kouji until that point that he had been a Chosen when he was eleven.

"He was very unhappy and wary of me after I told him. I always knew they would follow in our footsteps; it was just a matter of which side chose them. What about you? How did Kouichi react?"

Hikari looked away for a moment, saddened that Kouji had fought with his father. Then she recalled her own reaction to Kouichi being the Warrior of Darkness and gave a strangled sob. Ken lunged to comfort her and she leaned into the hug.

Eventually, she spoke, straightening up. "Kouichi was more accepting, thankfully. I think it helped him connect the dots when he saw a picture of Tailmon in one of our albums. But I… I became afraid when he told me he'd been the Warrior of Darkness. I thought "dear god, what have we done that our son is _this?_ " I shied away from him; he must hate me now, Ken."

Ken pulled Hikari close again and whispered soothing words to calm her. Making the gap even smaller between them, the deep blue-haired man responded. "It's okay, Hikari. I don't think Kouichi will hate you. He might be confused as to why you did that, but I know he won't hate you. He's too gentle of a soul for that kind of petty revenge."

Ken rubbed Hikari's back in another attempt to convince her everything would be fine. She took a deep breath due to her anxiety, remaining in her husband's arms and feeling safe. Ken wondered if Hikari knew that the artwork she bought was cursed, despite its beauty. He had felt its consciousness as soon as he entered.


End file.
